TY - JOUR A1 - Kader, A. A1 - Kaufmann, Jan Ole A1 - Mangarova, D. B. A1 - Moeckel, J. A1 - Brangsch, J. A1 - Adams, L. C. A1 - Zhao, J. A1 - Reimann, C. A1 - Saatz, Jessica A1 - Traub, Heike A1 - Buchholz, R. A1 - Karst, U. A1 - Hamm, B. A1 - Makowski, M. R. T1 - Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Visualization of Prostate Cancer in MRI JF - Cancers N2 - Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common cancers in men. For detection and diagnosis of PCa, non-invasive methods, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), can reduce the risk potential of surgical intervention. To explore the molecular characteristics of the tumor, we investigated the applicability of ferumoxytol in PCa in a xenograft mouse model in two different tumor volumes, 500 mm3 and 1000 mm3. Macrophages play a key role in tumor progression, and they are able to internalize iron-oxide particles, such as ferumoxytol. When evaluating T2*-weighted sequences on MRI, a significant decrease of signal intensity between pre- and post-contrast images for each tumor volume (n = 14; p < 0.001) was measured. We, furthermore, observed a higher signal loss for a tumor volume of 500 mm3 than for 1000 mm3. These findings were confirmed by histological examinations and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The 500 mm3 tumors had 1.5% iron content (n = 14; sigma = 1.1), while the 1000 mm3 tumors contained only 0.4% iron (n = 14; sigma = 0.2). In vivo MRI data demonstrated a correlation with the ex vivo data (R2 = 0.75). The results of elemental analysis by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry correlated strongly with the MRI data (R2 = 0.83) (n = 4). Due to its long retention time in the blood, biodegradability, and low toxicity to patients, ferumoxytol has great potential as a contrast agent for visualization PCa. KW - Imaging KW - Nanoparticle KW - Cancer KW - Iron oxide KW - ICP-MS KW - Magnetic resonance imaging PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-550075 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14122909 VL - 14 IS - 12 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Switzerland AN - OPUS4-55007 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wilke, Marco A1 - Röder, Bettina A1 - Paul, Martin A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - Sintered glass monoliths as supports for affinity columns JF - Separations N2 - A novel stationary phase for affinity separations is presented. This material is based on sintered borosilicate glass readily available as semi-finished filter plates with defined porosity and surface area. The material shows fast binding kinetics and excellent long-term stability under real application conditions due to lacking macropores and high mechanical rigidity. The glass surface can be easily modified with standard organosilane chemistry to immobilize selective binders or other molecules used for biointeraction. In this paper, the manufacturing of the columns and their respective column holders by 3D printing is shown in detail. The model system protein A/IgG was chosen as an example to examine the properties of such monolithic columns under realistic application conditions. Several specifications, such as (dynamic) IgG capacity, pressure stability, long-term performance, productivity, non-specific binding, and peak shape, are presented. It could be shown that due to the very high separation speed, 250 mg antibody per hour and column can be collected, which surpasses the productivity of most standard columns of the same size. The total IgG capacity of the shown columns is around 4 mg (5.5 mg/mL), which is sufficient for most tasks in research laboratories. The cycle time of an IgG separation can be less than 1 min. Due to the glass material’s excellent pressure resistance, these columns are compatible with standard HPLC systems. This is usually not the case with standard affinity columns, limited to manual use or application in low-pressure systems. The use of a standard HPLC system also improves the ability for automation, which enables the purification of hundreds of cell supernatants in one day. The sharp peak shape of the elution leads to an enrichment effect, which might increase the concentration of IgG by a factor of 3. The final concentration of IgG can be around 7.5 mg/mL without the need for an additional nano-filtration step. The purity of the IgG was > 95% in one step and nearly 99% with a second polishing run. KW - Affinity Chromatography KW - Affinity Extraction KW - Affinity Separation KW - Protein Purification KW - Down Stream Processing KW - Antibody Purification KW - Diagnostic Antibodies KW - Therapeutic Antibodies KW - Automated Purification KW - HPLC KW - FPLC KW - IgG determination KW - Concentration step KW - Monoclonal Antibodies KW - Polyclonal Antibodies KW - Human Plasma KW - Glass Support KW - Borosilicate Glass KW - Monolith KW - Sintered Material KW - Additive Manufacturing KW - Column holder KW - Construction KW - Open Science KW - Citizen Science KW - Protein A KW - Regeneration KW - High-Speed Separations KW - Robustness PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-527581 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/separations8050056 SN - 2297-8739 VL - 8 IS - 5 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-52758 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abbas, Ioana M. A1 - Vranic, M. A1 - Hoffmann, Holger A1 - El-Khatib, Ahmed H. A1 - Montes-Bayón, M. A1 - Möller, H. M. A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - Investigations of the copper peptide hepcidin-25 by LC-MS/MS and NMR (+) JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences N2 - Hepcidin-25 was identified as the main iron regulator in the human body, and it by binds to the sole iron-exporter ferroportin. Studies showed that the N-terminus of hepcidin is responsible for this interaction, the same N-terminus that encompasses a small copper(II)-binding site known as the ATCUN (amino-terminal Cu(II)- and Ni(II)-binding) motif. Interestingly, this copper-binding property is largely ignored in most papers dealing with hepcidin-25. In this context, detailed investigations of the complex formed between hepcidin-25 and copper could reveal insight into its biological role. The present work focuses on metal-bound hepcidin-25 that can be considered the biologically active form. The first part is devoted to the reversed-phase chromatographic separation of copper-bound and copper-free hepcidin-25 achieved by applying basic mobile phases containing 0.1% ammonia. Further, mass spectrometry (tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), high-resolution mass spectrometry HRMS)) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy were employed to characterize the copper-peptide. Lastly, a three-dimensional (3D)model of hepcidin-25with bound copper(II) is presented. The identification of metal complexes and potential isoforms and isomers, from which the latter usually are left undetected by mass spectrometry, led to the conclusion that complementary analytical methods are needed to characterize a peptide calibrant or reference material comprehensively. Quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR), inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), ion-mobility spectrometry (IMS) and chiral amino acid analysis (AAA) should be considered among others. KW - Metalloprotein KW - Peptide KW - Chromatography KW - High pH KW - Mobile phase KW - Metrology KW - Purity KW - Reference material KW - ATCUN KW - Copper KW - Nickel PY - 2018 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-457796 UR - http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/19/8/2271 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19082271 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 19 IS - 8 SP - 2271, 1 EP - 16 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-45779 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bernevic, Bogdan A1 - El-Khatib, Ahmed H. A1 - Jakubowski, Norbert A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - Online immunocapture ICP‑MS for the determination of the metalloprotein ceruloplasmin in human serum JF - BMC Research Notes N2 - The human copper-protein ceruloplasmin (Cp) is the major copper-containing protein in the human body. The accurate determination of Cp is mandatory for the reliable diagnosis of several diseases. However, the analysis of Cp has proven to be difficult. The aim of our work was a proof of concept for the determination of a metalloprotein-based on online immunocapture ICP-MS. The immuno-affinity step is responsible for the enrichment and isolation of the analyte from serum, whereas the compound-independent quantitation with ICP-MS delivers the sensitivity, precision, and large dynamic range. Off-line ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) was used in parallel to confirm the elution profile of the analyte with a structure-selective method. The total protein elution was observed with the 32S mass trace. The ICP-MS signals were normalized on a 59Co signal. The human copper-protein Cp could be selectively determined. This was shown with pure Cp and with a sample of human serum. The good correlation with off-line ELISA shows that Cp could be captured and eluted selectively from the anti-Cp affinity column and subsequently determined by the copper signal of ICP-MS. KW - ELISA KW - Affinity chromatography KW - Affinity extraction KW - IgY KW - Chicken antibodies KW - Immunoaffinity extraction KW - Copper KW - Diagnostics PY - 2018 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-446157 UR - https://bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13104-018-3324-7 UR - https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1186%2Fs13104-018-3324-7/MediaObjects/13104_2018_3324_MOESM1_ESM.pdf UR - https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1186%2Fs13104-018-3324-7/MediaObjects/13104_2018_3324_MOESM2_ESM.pdf DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-018-3324-7 SN - 1756-0500 VL - 11 IS - 1 SP - Article 213, 1 EP - 5 PB - Springer Nature CY - Heidelberg AN - OPUS4-44615 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Paul, Martin A1 - Tscheuschner, Georg A1 - Herrmann, Stefan A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - Fast Detection of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) at ppt Level by a Laser-Induced Immunofluorometric Biosensor JF - Biosensors N2 - The illegal use of explosives by terrorists and other criminals is an increasing issue in public spaces, such as airports, railway stations, highways, sports venues, theaters, and other large buildings. Security in these environments can be achieved by different means, including the installation of scanners and other analytical devices to detect ultra-small traces of explosives in a very short time-frame to be able to take action as early as possible to prevent the detonation of such devices. Unfortunately, an ideal explosive detection system still does not exist, which means that a compromise is needed in practice. Most detection devices lack the extreme analytical sensitivity, which is nevertheless necessary due to the low vapor pressure of nearly all explosives. In addition, the rate of false positives needs to be virtually zero, which is also very difficult to achieve. Here we present an immunosensor system based on kinetic competition, which is known to be very fast and may even overcome affinity limitation, which impairs the performance of many traditional competitive assays. This immunosensor consists of a monolithic glass column with a vast excess of immobilized hapten, which traps the fluorescently labeled antibody as long as no explosive is present. In the case of the explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), some binding sites of the antibody will be blocked, which leads to an immediate breakthrough of the labeled protein, detectable by highly sensitive laser-induced fluorescence with the help of a Peltier-cooled complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) camera. Liquid handling is performed with high-precision syringe pumps and chip-based mixing-devices and flow-cells. The system achieved limits of detection of 1 pM (1 ppt) of the fluorescent label and around 100 pM (20 ppt) of TNT. The total assay time is less than 8 min. A cross-reactivity test with 5000 pM solutions showed no signal by pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX). This immunosensor belongs to the most sensitive and fastest detectors for TNT with no significant cross-reactivity by non-related compounds. The consumption of the labeled antibody is surprisingly low: 1 mg of the reagent would be sufficient for more than one year of continuous biosensor operation. KW - Airport KW - Aviation KW - Bombs KW - Terrorism KW - Biosensing KW - Continuous Sensor KW - High-Speed KW - Ultrasensitive PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-511245 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/bios10080089 VL - 10 IS - 8 SP - 89 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-51124 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tscheuschner, Georg A1 - Schwaar, Timm A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - Fast Confirmation of Antibody Identity by MALDI-TOF MS Fingerprints JF - Antibodies N2 - Thousands of antibodies for diagnostic and other analytical purposes are on the market. However, it is often difficult to identify duplicates, reagent changes, and to assign the correct original publications to an antibody. This slows down scientific progress and might even be a cause of irreproducible research and a waste of resources. Recently, activities were started to suggest the sole use of recombinant antibodies in combination with the open communication of their sequence. In this case, such uncertainties should be eliminated. Unfortunately, this approach seems to be rather a long-term vision since the development and manufacturing of recombinant antibodies remain quite expensive in the foreseeable future. Nearly all commercial antibody suppliers also may be reluctant to publish the sequence of their antibodies, since they fear counterfeiting. De novo sequencing of antibodies is also not feasible today for a reagent user without access to the hybridoma clone. Nevertheless, it seems to be crucial for any scientist to have the opportunity to identify an antibody undoubtedly to guarantee the traceability of any research activity using antibodies from a third party as a tool. For this purpose, we developed a method for the identification of antibodies based on a MALDI-TOF MS fingerprint. To circumvent lengthy denaturation, reduction, alkylation, and enzymatic digestion steps, the fragmentation was performed with a simple formic acid hydrolysis step. Eighty-nine unknown monoclonal antibodies were used for this study to examine the feasibility of this approach. Although the molecular assignment of peaks was rarely possible, antibodies could be easily recognized in a blinded test, simply from their mass-spectral fingerprint. A general protocol is given, which could be used without any optimization to generate fingerprints for a database. We want to propose that, in most scientific projects relying critically on antibody reagents, such a fingerprint should be established to prove and document the identity of the used antibodies, as well as to assign a specific reagent to a datasheet of a commercial supplier, public database record, or antibody ID. KW - Reproducibility KW - Quality Control KW - Traceability KW - Diagnostics KW - Hybridoma KW - Monoclonal Antibody KW - Recombinant Antibody PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-506611 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/antib9020008 SN - 2310-287X VL - 9 IS - 2 SP - 1 EP - 17 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-50661 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Brangsch, J. A1 - Reimann, C. A1 - Kaufmann, Jan Ole A1 - Adams, L. C. A1 - Onthank, D. A1 - Thöne-Reineke, C. A1 - Robinson, S. A1 - Wilke, Marco A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Buchholz, R. A1 - Karst, U. A1 - Botnar, R. A1 - Hamm, B. A1 - Makowski, M. R. T1 - Molecular MR-Imaging for Noninvasive Quantification of the Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Targeting Interleukin-1β in a Mouse Model of Aortic Aneurysm JF - Molecular Imaging N2 - Background: Molecular-MRI is a promising imaging modality for the assessment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) represents a new therapeutic tool for AAA-treatment, since pro-inflammatory cytokines are key-mediators of inflammation. This study investigates the potential of molecular-MRI to evaluate therapeutic effects of an anti-IL-1β-therapy on AAA-formation in a mouse-model. Methods: Osmotic-minipumps were implanted in apolipoprotein-deficient-mice (N = 27). One group (Ang-II+01BSUR group, n = 9) was infused with angiotensin-II (Ang-II) for 4 weeks and received an anti-murine IL-1β-antibody (01BSUR) 3 times. One group (Ang-II-group, n = 9) was infused with Ang-II for 4 weeks but received no treatment. Control-group (n = 9) was infused with saline and received no treatment. MR-imaging was performed using an elastin-specific gadolinium-based-probe (0.2 mmol/kg). Results: Mice of the Ang-II+01BSUR-group showed a lower aortic-diameter compared to mice of the Ang-II-group and control mice (p < 0.05). Using the elastin-specific-probe, a significant decrease in elastin-destruction was observed in mice of the Ang-II+01BSUR-group. In vivo MR-measurements correlated well with histopathology (y = 0.34x-13.81, R2 = 0.84, p < 0.05), ICP-MS (y = 0.02x+2.39; R2 = 0.81, p < 0.05) and LA-ICP-MS. Immunofluorescence and western-blotting confirmed a reduced IL-1β-expression. Conclusions: Molecular-MRI enables the early visualization and quantification of the anti-inflammatory-effects of an IL-1β-inhibitor in a mouse-model of AAAs. Responders and non-responders could be identified early after the initiation of the therapy using molecular-MRI. KW - Cardiovascular KW - Molecular-MRI KW - Magnetic resonance imaging KW - Gadolinium-based contrast agent KW - Elastin-specific contrast agent ESMA KW - Gadovist KW - Gadofosveset KW - MR Angiography KW - Inductively Coupled Mass Spectroscopy KW - Element Specific Bioimaging Using Laser Ablation KW - Visualization PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-517150 DO - https://doi.org/10.1177/1536012120961875 VL - 19 SP - 61875 PB - SAGE AN - OPUS4-51715 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Steglich, P. A1 - Bondarenko, S. A1 - Mai, C. A1 - Paul, Martin A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Mai, A. T1 - CMOS-Compatible Silicon Photonic Sensor for Refractive Index Sensing Using Local Back-Side Release JF - IEEE Photonics Technology Letters N2 - Silicon photonic sensors are promising candidates for lab-on-a-chip solutions with versatile applications and scalable production prospects using complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication methods. However, the widespread use has been hindered because the sensing area adjoins optical and electrical components making packaging and sensor handling challenging. In this work, a local back-side release of the photonic sensor is employed, enabling a separation of the sensing area from the rest of the chip. This approach allows preserving the compatibility of photonic integrated circuits in the front-end of line and metal interconnects in the back-end of line. The sensor is based on a micro-ring resonator and is fabricated on wafer-level using a CMOS technology. We revealed a ring resonator sensitivity for homogeneous sensing of 106 nm/RIU. KW - Photonic biosensor KW - Lab-on-a-chip KW - Ring resonator KW - Resonance wavelength shift KW - PIC technology KW - Back-side integration PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-517139 DO - https://doi.org/10.1109/LPT.2020.3019114 VL - 32 IS - 19 SP - 1241 EP - 1244 PB - IEEE AN - OPUS4-51713 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Costa, Elena A1 - Climent Terol, Estela A1 - Ast, S. A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Canning, J. A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Development of a lateral flow test for rapid pyrethroid detection using antibody-gated indicator-releasing hybrid materials JF - Analyst N2 - The employment of type-I pyrethroids for airplane disinfection in recent years underlines the necessity to develop sensing schemes for the rapid detection of these pesticides directly at the point-of-use. Antibody-gated indicator-releasing materials were thus developed and implemented with test strips for lateral-flow assay-based analysis employing a smartphone for readout. Besides a proper matching of pore sizes and gating macromolecules, the functionalization of both the material's outer surface as well as the strips with PEG chains enhanced system performance. This simple assay allowed for the detection of permethrin as a target molecule at concentrations down to the lower ppb level in less than 5 minutes. KW - Lateral flow test KW - Gated hybrid material KW - Fluorescence KW - Smartphone readout device KW - Pyrethroid KW - Pesticide KW - Insecticide KW - SBA-15 KW - Permethrin PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d0an00319k SN - 0003-2654 SN - 1364-5528 VL - 145 IS - 10 SP - 3490 EP - 3494 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge AN - OPUS4-50756 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tscheuschner, Georg A1 - Kaiser, Melanie N. A1 - Lisec, Jan A1 - Beslic, D. A1 - Muth, Thilo A1 - Krüger, M. A1 - Mages, H. W. A1 - Dorner, B. G. A1 - Knospe, J. A1 - Schenk, J. A. A1 - Sellrie, F. A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - MALDI-TOF-MS-Based Identification of Monoclonal Murine Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies within One Hour JF - Antibodies N2 - During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, many virus-binding monoclonal antibodies have been developed for clinical and diagnostic purposes. This underlines the importance of antibodies as universal bioanalytical reagents. However, little attention is given to the reproducibility crisis that scientific studies are still facing to date. In a recent study, not even half of all research antibodies mentioned in publications could be identified at all. This should spark more efforts in the search for practical solutions for the traceability of antibodies. For this purpose, we used 35 monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 to demonstrate how sequence-independent antibody identification can be achieved by simple means applied to the protein. First, we examined the intact and light chain masses of the antibodies relative to the reference material NIST-mAb 8671. Already half of the antibodies could be identified based solely on these two parameters. In addition, we developed two complementary peptide mass fingerprinting methods with MALDI-TOF-MS that can be performed in 60 min and had a combined sequence coverage of over 80%. One method is based on the partial acidic hydrolysis of the protein by 5 mM of sulfuric acid at 99 degrees C. Furthermore, we established a fast way for a tryptic digest without an alkylation step. We were able to show that the distinction of clones is possible simply by a brief visual comparison of the mass spectra. In this work, two clones originating from the same immunization gave the same fingerprints. Later, a hybridoma sequencing confirmed the sequence identity of these sister clones. In order to automate the spectral comparison for larger libraries of antibodies, we developed the online software ABID 2.0. This open-source software determines the number of matching peptides in the fingerprint spectra. We propose that publications and other documents critically relying on monoclonal antibodies with unknown amino acid sequences should include at least one antibody fingerprint. By fingerprinting an antibody in question, its identity can be confirmed by comparison with a library spectrum at any time and context. KW - Reproducibility KW - Quality control KW - Traceability KW - Peptides KW - Peptide mass fingerprinting KW - Monoclonal antibody KW - Recombinant antibody KW - Identity KW - Antibody identification KW - Sequencing KW - Light chain KW - Mass spectrometry KW - Software KW - Open science KW - Library KW - COVID-19 KW - Corona virus KW - Sequence coverage KW - NIST-mAb 8671 KW - Reference material KW - RBD KW - Spike protein KW - Nucleocapsid KW - Cleavage KW - Tryptic digest KW - MALDI KW - DHAP KW - 2,5-dihydroxyacetophenone KW - Github KW - Zenodo KW - ABID PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-547347 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/antib11020027 VL - 11 IS - 2 SP - 1 EP - 22 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-54734 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Backes, A. T. A1 - Reinmuth-Selzle, K. A1 - Leifke, A. L. A1 - Ziegler, K. A1 - Krevert, C. S. A1 - Tscheuschner, Georg A1 - Lucas, K. A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Berkemeier, T. A1 - Pöschl, U. A1 - Fröhlich-Nowoisky, J. T1 - Oligomerization and Nitration of the Grass Pollen Allergen Phl p 5 by Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide, and Peroxynitrite: Reaction Products, Kinetics, and Health Effects JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences N2 - The allergenic and inflammatory potential of proteins can be enhanced by chemical modification upon exposure to atmospheric or physiological oxidants. The molecular mechanisms and kinetics of such modifications, however, have not yet been fully resolved. We investigated the oligomerization and nitration of the grass pollen allergen Phl p 5 by ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and peroxynitrite (ONOO–). Within several hours of exposure to atmospherically relevant concentration levels of O3 and NO2, up to 50% of Phl p 5 were converted into protein oligomers, likely by formation of dityrosine cross-links. Assuming that tyrosine residues are the preferential site of nitration, up to 10% of the 12 tyrosine residues per protein monomer were nitrated. For the reaction with peroxynitrite, the largest oligomer mass fractions (up to 50%) were found for equimolar concentrations of peroxynitrite over tyrosine residues. With excess peroxynitrite, the nitration degrees increased up to 40% whereas the oligomer mass fractions decreased to 20%. Our results suggest that protein oligomerization and nitration are competing processes, which is consistent with a two-step mechanism involving a reactive oxygen intermediate (ROI), as observed for other proteins. The modified proteins can promote pro-inflammatory cellular signaling that may contribute to chronic inflammation and allergies in response to air pollution. KW - Protein KW - Nitrotyrosine KW - Dityrosine KW - Allergy KW - Hay fever KW - Diesel exhaust KW - Combustion KW - Exhaust PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-529729 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22147616 VL - 22 IS - 14 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-52972 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Keller, S. A1 - Borde, T. A1 - Brangsch, J. A1 - Reimann, C. A1 - Kader, A. A1 - Schulze, D. A1 - Buchholz, R. A1 - Kaufmann, Jan Ole A1 - Karst, U. A1 - Schellenberger, E. A1 - Hamm, B. A1 - Makowski, M. R. T1 - Assessment of the hepatic tumor extracellular matrix using elastin‑specific molecular magnetic resonance imaging in an experimental rabbit cancer model JF - Scientific Reports N2 - To investigate the imaging performance of an elastin-specific molecular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) probe with respect to the extracellular matrix (ECM) in an experimental hepatic cancer model. Twelve rabbits with hepatic VX2 tumors were examined using 3 T MRI 14, 21, and 28 days after tumor implantation for two subsequent days (gadobutrol, day 1; elastin-specific probe, day 2). The relative enhancement (RE) of segmented tumor regions (central and margin) and the peritumoral matrix was calculated using pre-contrast and delayed-phase T1w sequences. MRI measurements were correlated to histopathology and element-specific and spatially resolved mass spectrometry (MS). Mixed-model analysis was performed to assess the performance of the elastin-specific probe. In comparison to gadobutrol, the elastin probe showed significantly stronger RE, which was pronounced in the tumor margin (day 14–28: P ≤ 0.007). In addition, the elastin probe was superior in discriminating between tumor regions (χ2(4) = 65.87; P < 0.001). MRI-based measurements of the elastin probe significantly correlated with the ex vivo elastinstain (R = .84; P <0 .001) and absolute gadolinium concentrations (ICP-MS: R = .73, P <0 .01). LA-ICP-MS imaging confirmed the colocalization of the elastin-specific probe with elastic fibers. Elastin-specific molecular MRI is superior to non-specific gadolinium-based contrast agents in imaging the ECM of hepatic tumors and the peritumoral tissue. KW - Elastin-specific molecular agent KW - Extracellular matrix KW - Hepatocellular carcinoma KW - Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy KW - Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry KW - Magnetic resonance imaging KW - MR imaging KW - ESMA KW - Gadolinium PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-517360 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-77624-8 VL - 10 IS - 1 SP - 20785 PB - Nature AN - OPUS4-51736 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kader, A. A1 - Brangsch, J. A1 - Kaufmann, Jan Ole A1 - Zhao, J. A1 - Mangarova, D. B. A1 - Moeckel, J. A1 - Adams, L. C. A1 - Sack, I. A1 - Taupitz, M. A1 - Hamm, B. A1 - Makowski, M. R. T1 - Molecular MR Imaging of Prostate Cancer JF - Biomedicines N2 - This review summarizes recent developments regarding molecular imaging markers for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of prostate cancer (PCa). Currently, the clinical standard includes MR imaging using unspecific gadolinium-based contrast agents. Specific molecular probes for the diagnosis of PCa could improve the molecular characterization of the tumor in a non-invasive examination. Furthermore, molecular probes could enable targeted therapies to suppress tumor growth or reduce the tumor size. KW - Prostate cancer KW - Magnetic resonance imaging KW - Molecular imaging KW - Imaging KW - Molecular marker KW - Screening KW - MRI KW - Diagnosis PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-519503 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines9010001 VL - 9 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 17 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-51950 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ziegler, K. A1 - Kunert, A. T. A1 - Reinmuth-Selzle, K. A1 - Leifke, A. L. A1 - Widera, D. A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Schuppan, D. A1 - Fröhlich-Nowoisky, J. A1 - Lucas, K. A1 - Pöschl, U. T1 - Chemical modification of pro-inflammatory proteins by peroxynitrite increases activation of TLR4 and NF-κB: Implications for the health effects of air pollution and oxidative stress JF - Redox Biology N2 - Environmental pollutants like fine particulate matter can cause adverse health effects through oxidative stress and inflammation. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) such as peroxynitrite can chemically modify proteins, but the effects of such modifications on the immune system and human health are not well understood. In the course of inflammatory processes, the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) can sense damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Here, we investigate how the TLR4 response and pro-inflammatory potential of the proteinous DAMPs α-Synuclein (α-Syn), heat shock protein 60 (HSP60), and high-mobility-group box 1 protein (HMGB1), which are relevant in neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, changes upon chemical modification with peroxynitrite. For the peroxynitrite-modified proteins, we found a strongly enhanced activation of TLR4 and the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB in stable reporter cell lines as well as increased mRNA expression and secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-8 in human monocytes (THP-1). This enhanced activation of innate immunity via TLR4 is mediated by covalent chemical modifications of the studied DAMPs. Our results show that proteinous DAMPs modified by peroxynitrite more potently amplify inflammation via TLR4 activation than the native DAMPs, and provide first evidence that such modifications can directly enhance innate immune responses via a defined receptor. These findings suggest that environmental pollutants and related ROS/RNS may play a role in promoting acute and chronic inflammatory disorders by structurally modifying the body's own DAMPs. This may have important consequences for chronic neurodegenerative, cardiovascular or gastrointestinal diseases that are prevalent in modern societies, and calls for action, to improve air quality and climate in the Anthropocene. KW - Protein nitration KW - Protein oligomerization KW - Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) KW - Pattern recognition receptor KW - Anthropocene KW - Environmental pollutants PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-517128 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2020.101581 VL - 37 SP - 101581 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-51712 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lemke, Nora A1 - El-Khatib, Ahmed H. A1 - Tchipilov, Teodor A1 - Jakubowski, N. A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Vogl, Jochen T1 - Procedure providing SI‑traceable results for the calibration of protein standards by sulfur determination and its application on tau JF - Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry N2 - Quantitative proteomics is a growing research area and one of the most important tools in the life sciences. Well-characterized and quantified protein standards are needed to achieve accurate and reliable results. However, only a limited number of sufficiently characterized protein standards are currently available. To fill this gap, a method for traceable protein quantification using sulfur isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed in this study. Gel filtration and membrane filtration were tested for the separation of non-protein-bound sulfur in the protein solution. Membrane filtration demonstrated a better performance due to the lower workload and the very low sulfur blanks of 11 ng, making it well suited for high-purity proteins such as NIST SRM 927, a bovine serum albumin (BSA). The method development was accomplished with NIST SRM 927e and a commercial avidin. The quantified mass fraction of NIST SRM 927e agreed very well with the certified value and showed similar uncertainties (3.6%) as established methods while requiring less sample preparation and no species-specific standards. Finally, the developed procedure was applied to the tau protein, which is a biomarker for a group of neurodegenerative diseases denoted “tauopathies” including, e.g., Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. For the absolute quantification of tau in the brain of transgenic mice overexpressing human tau, a well-defined calibration standard was needed. Therefore, a pure tau solution was quantified, yielding a protein mass fraction of (0.328 ± 0.036) g/kg, which was confirmed by amino acid analysis. KW - Iinductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry KW - Isotope dilution KW - Quantitative protein analysis KW - Sulfur KW - SI traceability PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-545200 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-022-03974-z VL - 414 SP - 4441 EP - 4455 PB - Springer Verlag AN - OPUS4-54520 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reinmuth-Selzle, K. A1 - Tchipilov, Teodor A1 - Backes, A. T. A1 - Tscheuschner, Georg A1 - Tang, K. A1 - Ziegler, K. A1 - Lucas, K. A1 - Pöschl, U. A1 - Fröhlich-Nowoisky, J. A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - Determination of the protein content of complex samples by aromatic amino acid analysis, liquid chromatography-UV absorbance, and colorimetry JF - Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry N2 - Fast and accurate determination of the protein content of a sample is an important and non-trivial task of many biochemical, biomedical, food chemical, pharmaceutical, and environmental research activities. Different methods of total protein determination are used for a wide range of proteins with highly variable properties in complex matrices. These methods usually work reasonably well for proteins under controlled conditions, but the results for non-standard and complex samples are often questionable. Here, we compare new and well-established methods, including traditional amino acid analysis (AAA), aromatic amino acid analysis (AAAA) based on the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine, reversed-phase liquid chromatography of intact proteins with UV absorbance measurements at 220 and 280 nm (LC-220, LC-280), and colorimetric assays like Coomassie Blue G-250 dye-binding assay (Bradford) and bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay. We investigated different samples, including proteins with challenging properties, chemical modifications, mixtures, and complex matrices like air particulate matter and pollen extracts. All methods yielded accurate and precise results for the protein and matrix used for calibration. AAA, AAAA with fluorescence detection, and the LC-220 method yielded robust results even under more challenging conditions (variable analytes and matrices). These methods turned out to be well-suited for reliable determination of the protein content in a wide range of samples, such as air particulate matter and pollen. KW - Air particulate matter KW - Aromatic amino acid analysis KW - Atmospheric aerosol KW - Chemical protein modification KW - Derivatization KW - Nitration KW - Nitrotyrosine KW - LC-UV absorbance KW - Pollen extract KW - Protein quantification KW - Protein test KW - Kjeldahl KW - Tyrosine KW - Phenylalanine KW - Hydrolysis KW - Bradford KW - BCA test KW - 280 nm KW - Air filter samples KW - Fluorescence KW - HPLC KW - Chromatography KW - Protein content KW - 150th anniversary of BAM KW - Topical collection: Analytical Methods and Applications in the Materials and Life Sciences PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-545924 UR - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35320366/ DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-022-03910-1 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Springer Nature Limited CY - New York, Heidelberg AN - OPUS4-54592 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Remmler, Dario A1 - Schwaar, Timm A1 - Pickhardt, M. A1 - Donth, C. A1 - Mandelkow, E. A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Börner, H. T1 - On the way to precision formulation additives: 2D-screening to select solubilizers with tailored host and release capabilities JF - Journal of Controlled Release N2 - A 2-dimensional high-throughput screening method is presented to select peptide sequences from large peptide libraries for precision formulation additives, having a high capacity to specifically host a drug of interest and provide tailored drug release properties. The identified sequences are conjugated with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to obtain peptide-PEG conjugates that proved to be valuable as solubilizers for small organic molecule drugs to overcome limitations of poor water-solubility and low bio-availability. The 2D-screening method selects peptide sequences on both (i) high loading capacities and (ii) preferred drug-release capabilities as demonstrated on an experimental Tau-protein aggregation inhibitor/Tau- deaggregator with potentials for an anti-Alzheimer disease drug (BB17). To enable 2D-screening, a one-bead one-compound (OBOC) peptide library was immobilized on a glass slide, allocating individual beads to permanent positions. While the first screening step involved incubation of the supported OBOC library with BB17 to identify beads with high drug binding capacities by fluorescence scanner readouts, the second step reveals release properties of the high capacity binders by incubation with blood plasma protein model solutions. Efficiently peptides with high BB17 capacities and either keeper or medium or fast releaser properties can be identified by direct sequence readouts from the glass slide supported resin beads via matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. Four peptides are synthesized as peptide-PEG solubilizers representing strong, medium, weak releasers and non-binders. Loading capacities reached up to 1:3.4 (mol drug per mol carrier) and release kinetics (fast/medium/slow) are in agreement with the selection process as investigated by fluorescence anisotropy and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. The ability of BB17/conjugate complexes to inhibit the aggregation of Tau4RDΔK (four repeat Tau ((M)Q244-E372 with deletion of K280), 129 residues) in N2a cells is studied by a Tau-pelleting assay showing the modulation of cellular Tau aggregation. Promising effects such as the reduction of 55% of total Tau load are observed for the strong releaser additive. Studies of in vitro Thioflavin S Tau-aggregation assays show half-maximal inhibitory activities (IC50 values) of BB17/conjugates in the low micro-molar range. KW - Block copolymer KW - Drug transporters KW - Peptide library screening KW - Formulation additives PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2018.06.032 SN - 0168-3659 SN - 1873-4995 VL - 285 SP - 96 EP - 105 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-45483 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abbas, Ioana M. A1 - Hoffmann, Holger A1 - Montes-Bayón, M. A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - Improved LC-MS/MS method for the quantification of hepcidin-25 in clinical samples JF - Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry N2 - Mass spectrometry-based methods play a crucial role in the quantification of the main iron metabolism regulator hepcidin by singling out the bioactive 25-residue peptide from the other naturally occurring N-truncated isoforms (hepcidin-20, -22, -24), which seem to be inactive in iron homeostasis. However, several difficulties arise in the MS analysis of hepcidin due to the sticky character of the peptide and the lack of suitable standards. Here, we propose the use of amino- and fluoro-silanized autosampler vials to reduce hepcidin interaction to laboratory glassware surfaces after testing several types of vials for the preparation of stock solutions and serum samples for isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (ID-LC-MS/MS). Furthermore, we have investigated two sample preparation strategies and two chromatographic separation conditions with the aim of developing an LC-MS/MS method for the sensitive and reliable quantification of hepcidin-25 in serum samples. A chromatographic separation based on usual acidic mobile phases was compared with a novel approach involving the separation of hepcidin-25 with solvents at high pH containing 0.1% of ammonia. Both methods were applied to clinical samples in an intra-laboratory comparison of two LC-MS/MS methods using the same hepcidin-25 calibrators with good correlation of the results. Finally, we recommend an LC-MS/MS-based quantification method with a dynamic range of 0.5–40 μg/L for the assessment of hepcidin-25 in human serum that uses TFA-based mobile phases and silanized glass vials. KW - HPLC KW - Liquid chromatography KW - Mass spectrometry KW - Silanization KW - Mobile phase KW - Adsorption KW - Peptide losses KW - Recovery KW - Validation KW - Quality control KW - QC KW - Iron disorders KW - Chronic kidney disease KW - Metrology KW - Round robin exercise KW - Basic solvent KW - Peptide analysis PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-018-1056-0 SN - 1618-2642 SN - 1618-2650 VL - 410 IS - 16 SP - 3835 EP - 3846 PB - Springer Nature CY - Heidelberg AN - OPUS4-45053 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mi, W. A1 - Josephs, R. D. A1 - Melanson, J. E. A1 - Dai, X. A1 - Wang, Y. A1 - Zhai, R. A1 - Chu, Z. A1 - Fang, X. A1 - Thibeault, M.-P. A1 - Stocks, B. B. A1 - Meija, J. A1 - Bedu, M. A1 - Martos, G. A1 - Westwood, S. A1 - Wielgosz, R. I. A1 - Liu, Q. A1 - Teo, T. L. A1 - Liu, H. A1 - Tan, Y. J. A1 - Öztuğ, M. A1 - Saban, E. A1 - Kinumi, T. A1 - Saikusa, K. A1 - Schneider, Rudolf A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Konthur, Zoltán A1 - Jaeger, Carsten A1 - Quaglia, M. A1 - Mussell, C. A1 - Drinkwater, G. A1 - Giangrande, C. A1 - Vaneeckhoutte, H. A1 - Boeuf, A. A1 - Delatour, V. A1 - Lee, J. E. A1 - O'Connor, G. A1 - Ohlendorf, R. A1 - Henrion, A. A1 - Beltrão, P. J. A1 - Naressi Scapin, S. M. A1 - Sade, Y. B. T1 - PAWG Pilot Study on Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 Monoclonal Antibody - Part 1 JF - Metrologia N2 - Under the auspices of the Protein Analysis Working Group (PAWG) of the Comité Consultatif pour la Quantité de Matière (CCQM) a pilot study, CCQM-P216, was coordinated by the Chinese National Institute of Metrology (NIM), National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). Eleven Metrology Institutes or Designated Institutes and the BIPM participated in the first phase of the pilot study (Part 1). The purpose of this pilot study was to develop measurement capabilities for larger proteins using a recombinant humanized IgG monoclonal antibody against Spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 (Anti-S IgG mAb) in solution. The first phase of the study was designed to employ established methods that had been previously studies by the CCQM Protein Analysis Working Group, involving the digestion of protein down to the peptide or amino acid level. The global coronavirus pandemic has also led to increased focus on antibody quantitation methods. IgG are among the immunoglobulins produced by the immune system to provide protection against SARS-CoV-2. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG can therefore be detected in samples from affected patients. Antibody tests can show whether a person has been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2, and whether or not they potentially show lasting immunity to the disease. With the constant spread of the virus and the high pressure of re-opening economies, antibody testing plays a critical role in the fight against COVID-19 by helping healthcare professionals to identify individuals who have developed an immune response, either via vaccination or exposure to the virus. Many countries have launched large-scale antibody testing for COVID-19. The development of measurement standards for the antibody detection of SARS-CoV-2 is critically important to deal with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody is being used as a model system to build capacity in methods that can be used in antibody quantification. Amino acid reference values with corresponding expanded uncertainty of 36.10 ± 1.55 mg/kg, 38.75 ± 1.45 mg/kg, 18.46 ± 0.78 mg/kg, 16.20 ± 0.67 mg/kg and 30.61 ± 1.30 mg/kg have been established for leucine, valine, phenylalanine, isoleucine and proline, respectively. Agreement between nearly all laboratories was achieved for the amino acid analysis within 2 to 2.5 %, with one participant achieving markedly higher results due to a technical issue found in their procedure; this result was thus excluded from the reference value calculations. The relatively good agreement within a laboratory between different amino acids was not dissimilar to previous results for peptides or small proteins, indicating that factors such as hydrolysis conditions and calibration procedures could be the largest sources of variability. Peptide reference values with corresponding expanded uncertainty of 4.99 ± 0.28 mg/kg and 6.83 ± 0.65 mg/kg have been established for ALPAPIEK and GPSVFPLAPSSK, respectively. Not surprisingly due to prior knowledge from previous studies on peptide quantitation, agreement between laboratories for the peptide-based analysis was slightly poorer at 3 to 5 %, with one laboratory's result excluded for the peptide GPSVFPLAPSSK. Again, this level of agreement was not significantly poorer than that achieved in previous studies with smaller or less complex proteins. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. KW - Antibody quantification KW - Amino acid analysis KW - Peptide analysis KW - Round robin test PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/59/1a/08001 VL - 59 IS - 1A SP - 08001 AN - OPUS4-54972 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Costa, Elena A1 - Climent Terol, Estela A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Wan, Wei A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Optimization of analytical assay performance of antibody-gated indicator-releasing mesoporous silica particles JF - Journal of Materials Chemistry B N2 - Antibody-gated indicator delivery (gAID) systems based on mesoporous silica nano- and microparticle scaffolds are a promising class of materials for the sensitive chemical detection of small-molecule analytes in simple test formats such as lateral flow assays (LFAs) or microfluidic chips. Their architecture is reminiscent of drug delivery systems, only that reporter molecules instead of drugs are stored in the voids of a porous host particle. In addition, the pores are closed with macromolecular “caps” through a tailored “gatekeeping” recognition chemistry so that the caps are opened when an analyte has reacted with a “gatekeeper”. The subsequent uncapping leads to a release of a large number of indicator molecules, endowing the system with signal amplification features. Particular benefits of such systems are their modularity and adaptability. With the example of the immunochemical detection of type-I pyrethroids by fluorescent dye-releasing gAID systems, the influence of several tuning modes on the optimisation of such hybrid sensory materials is introduced here. In particular, different mesoporous silica supports (from nano- and microparticles to platelets and short fibres), different functionalisation routes and different loading sequences were assessed. The materials’ performances were evaluated by studying their temporal response behaviour and detection sensitivity, including the tightness of pore closure (through the amount of blank release in the absence of analyte) and the release kinetics. Our results indicate that the better the paratope-accommodating Fab region of the antibody “cap” fits into the host material's pore opening, the better the closing/opening mechanism can be controlled. Because such materials are well-suited for LFAs, performance assessment included a test-strip format besides conventional assays in suspension. In combination with dyes as indicators and smartphones for read-out, simple analytical tests for use by untrained personnel directly at a point-of-need such as an aeroplane cabin can be devised, allowing for sensitivities down to the μg kg−1 range in <5 min with case-required selectivities. KW - Antibody-gated indicator delivery KW - Lateral flow assay KW - SBA-15 KW - SBA-16 KW - Type-I pyrethroids KW - Phenothrin KW - Permethrin KW - Etofenprox KW - Amplification KW - Biosensors KW - Immunoassays KW - Mesoporous particles KW - Optical detection PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-517053 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d0tb00371a VL - 8 IS - 22 SP - 4950 EP - 4961 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-51705 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bosc-Bierne, Gaby A1 - Ewald, Shireen A1 - Kreuzer, Oliver J. A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - Efficient Quality Control of Peptide Pools by UHPLC and Simultaneous UV and HRMS Detection JF - Separations N2 - Peptide pools consist of short amino acid sequences and have proven to be versatile tools in various research areas in immunology and clinical applications. They are commercially available in many different compositions and variants. However, unlike other reagents that consist of only one or a few compounds, peptide pools are highly complex products which makes their quality control a major challenge. Quantitative peptide analysis usually requires sophisticated methods, in most cases isotope-labeled standards and reference materials. Usually, this would be prohibitively laborious and expensive. Therefore, an approach is needed to provide a practical and feasible method for quality control of peptide pools. With insufficient quality control, the use of such products could lead to incorrect experimental results, worsening the well-known reproducibility crisis in the biomedical sciences. Here we propose the use of ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) with two detectors, a standard UV detector at 214 nm for quantitative analysis and a high-resolution mass spectrometer (HRMS) for identity confirmation. To be cost-efficient and fast, quantification and identification are performed in one chromatographic run. An optimized protocol is shown, and different peak integration methods are compared and discussed. This work was performed using a peptide pool known as CEF advanced, which consists of 32 peptides derived from cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) and influenza virus, ranging from 8 to 12 amino acids in length. N2 - Peptidpools bestehen aus kurzen Aminosäuresequenzen und haben sich als vielseitige Werkzeuge in verschiedenen Forschungsbereichen der Immunologie und bei klinischen Anwendungen erwiesen. Sie sind in vielen verschiedenen Zusammensetzungen und Varianten im Handel erhältlich. Im Gegensatz zu anderen Reagenzien, die nur aus einer oder wenigen Verbindungen bestehen, sind Peptidpools jedoch hochkomplexe Produkte, was ihre Qualitätskontrolle zu einer großen Herausforderung macht. Die quantitative Peptidanalyse erfordert in der Regel ausgefeilte Methoden, in den meisten Fällen isotopenmarkierte Standards und Referenzmaterialien. Dies ist in der Regel sehr aufwändig und teuer. Daher wird ein Ansatz benötigt, der eine praktische und praktikable Methode zur Qualitätskontrolle von Peptidpools bietet. Bei unzureichender Qualitätskontrolle könnte die Verwendung solcher Produkte zu falschen Versuchsergebnissen führen, was das bekannte Problem der Reproduzierbarkeit in den biomedizinischen Wissenschaften noch verschärfen würde. Hier schlagen wir die Verwendung der Ultrahochleistungs-Flüssigkeitschromatographie (UHPLC) mit zwei Detektoren vor, einem Standard-UV-Detektor bei 214 nm für die quantitative Analyse und einem hochauflösenden Massenspektrometer (HRMS) für die Identitätsbestätigung. Um kosteneffizient und schnell zu sein, werden Quantifizierung und Identifizierung in einem einzigen chromatographischen Lauf durchgeführt. Es wird ein optimiertes Protokoll gezeigt, und es werden verschiedene Peak-Integrationsmethoden verglichen und diskutiert. Für diese Arbeit wurde ein Peptidpool verwendet, der als CEF advanced bekannt ist und aus 32 Peptiden besteht, die vom Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr-Virus (EBV) und Influenzavirus stammen und zwischen 8 und 12 Aminosäuren lang sind. KW - Synthetic peptides KW - Quality control KW - Impurites KW - Byproducts KW - Degradation KW - Mass spectrometry KW - Orbitrap PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-602299 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11050156 VL - 11 IS - 5 SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - MDPI AG CY - Basle, Switzerland AN - OPUS4-60229 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwaar, Timm A1 - Lettow, Maike A1 - Remmler, Dario A1 - Börner, H. G. A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - Efficient Screening of Combinatorial Peptide Libraries by Spatially Ordered Beads Immobilized on Conventional Glass Slides JF - High-Throughput N2 - Screening of one-bead-one-compound (OBOC) libraries is a proven procedure for the identification of protein-binding ligands. The demand for binders with high affinity and specificity towards various targets has surged in the biomedical and pharmaceutical field in recent years. The traditional peptide screening involves tedious steps such as affinity selection, bead picking, sequencing, and characterization. Herein, we present a high-throughput “all-on-one chip” system to avoid slow and technically complex bead picking steps. On a traditional glass slide provided with an electrically conductive tape, beads of a combinatorial peptide library are aligned and immobilized by application of a precision sieve. Subsequently, the chip is incubated with a fluorophore-labeled target protein. In a fluorescence scan followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-time of flight (TOF) mass spectrometry, high-affinity binders are directly and unambiguously sequenced with high accuracy without picking of the positive beads. The use of an optimized ladder sequencing approach improved the accuracy of the de-novo sequencing step to nearly 100%. The new technique was validated by employing a FLAG-based model system, identifying new peptide binders for the monoclonal M2 anti-FLAG antibody, and was finally utilized to search for IgG-binding peptides. In the present format, more than 30,000 beads can be screened on one slide. KW - Peptide library KW - HTS KW - Target KW - MALDI KW - Mass spectrometry KW - Biochip KW - Lab-on-a-Chip KW - Array KW - Screening KW - Ladder sequencing KW - Binder KW - Pharmaceutical PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-478973 UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2571-5135/8/2/11 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/ht8020011 VL - 8 IS - 2 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-47897 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tannenberg, Robert A1 - Paul, Martin A1 - Röder, Bettina A1 - Gande, S. L. A1 - Sreeramulu, S. A1 - Saxena, K. A1 - Richter, C. A1 - Schwalbe, H. A1 - Swart, C. A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - Chemiluminescence biosensor for the determination of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) JF - Biosensors N2 - Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is a crucial biomarker for diagnosing cardiac vascular diseases, including acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This study presents a proof-of-concept chemiluminescence-based immunosensor for rapid and accurate measurement of cTnI, with the potential for online monitoring. The immunosensor incorporates a flow cell design and a sensitive complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) camera for optical readout. A microfluidic setup was established to enable selective and quasi-online determination of cTnI within ten minutes. The sensor was tested with recombinant cTnI in phosphate buffer, demonstrating measurements in the concentration range of 2–25 µg/L, with a limit of detection (LoD) of 0.6 µg/L (23 pmol/L) achieved using the optimized system. The immunosensor exhibited high selectivity, as no cross-reactivity was observed with other recombinant proteins such as cTnT and cTnC at a concentration of 16 µg/L. Measurements with diluted blood plasma and serum yielded an LoD of 60 µg/L (2.4 nmol/L) and 70 µg/L (2.9 nmol/L), respectively. This biosensor offers a promising approach for the rapid and sensitive detection of cTnI, contributing to the diagnosis and management of acute myocardial infarction and other cardiac vascular diseases. N2 - Das kardiale Troponin I (cTnI) ist ein wichtiger Biomarker für die Diagnose von Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen, einschließlich des akuten Myokardinfarkts (AMI). In dieser Studie wird ein auf Chemilumineszenz basierender Immunsensor für die schnelle und genaue Messung von cTnI vorgestellt, der das Potenzial für eine Online-Überwachung hat. Der Immunsensor besteht aus einer Durchflusszelle und einer empfindlichen CMOS-Kamera (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) zur optischen Detektion. Es wurde ein mikrofluidischer Aufbau entwickelt, der eine selektive und quasi Online-Bestimmung von cTnI innerhalb von zehn Minuten ermöglicht. Der Sensor wurde mit rekombinantem cTnI in Phosphatpuffer getestet und zeigte einen Messbereich von 2-25 µg/L, wobei mit dem optimierten System eine Nachweisgrenze (LoD) von 0,6 µg/L (23 pmol/L) erreicht wurde. Der Immunsensor zeigte eine hohe Selektivität, da keine Kreuzreaktivität mit anderen rekombinanten Proteinen wie cTnT und cTnC bei einer Konzentration von 16 µg/L beobachtet wurde. Messungen mit verdünntem Blutplasma und Serum ergaben einen LoD von 60 µg/L (2,4 nmol/L) bzw. 70 µg/L (2,9 nmol/L). Dieser Biosensor bietet einen vielversprechenden Ansatz für den schnellen und empfindlichen Nachweis von cTnI, der zur Diagnose und Behandlung des akuten Myokardinfarkts und anderer kardialer Gefäßerkrankungen beitragen kann. KW - Acute myocardial infarction KW - Heart attack KW - Emergency KW - Diagnosis KW - Cardiac troponin KW - Biomarker KW - Immunosensor KW - Biosensor KW - Chemiluminescence KW - Luminol KW - Peroxidase KW - Monoclonal antibodies KW - Flow injection immunoassay KW - Immunometric assay KW - Immunometric biosensor KW - Microfluidic system KW - Monolithic column KW - Online biosensor PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-575471 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/bios13040455 SN - 2079-6374 VL - 13 IS - 4 SP - 1 EP - 20 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-57547 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Völzke, Jule L. A1 - Smatty, Sarah A1 - Döring, Sarah A1 - Ewald, Shireen A1 - Oelze, Marcus A1 - Fratzke, Franziska A1 - Flemig, Sabine A1 - Konthur, Zoltán A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - Efficient Purification of Polyhistidine-Tagged Recombinant Proteins Using Functionalized Corundum Particles JF - BioTech N2 - Immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) is a widely used technique for purifying polyhistidine-tagged recombinant proteins. However, it often has practical limitations that require complex optimizations and additional steps for purification. In this study, we introduce functionalized corundum particles as a novel, efficient, and economical method for purifying recombinant proteins in a column-free format. The corundum surface is modified with amino silane APTES, followed by EDTA dianhydride, and then loaded with nickel ions. We used the Kaiser test to monitor the modification process and ICP-MS to quantify the metal-binding capacity. To evaluate the system, we used His-tagged protein A/G (PAG) mixed with bovine serum albumin (BSA). The corundum particles exhibited a binding capacity of approximately 3 mg of protein per gram of corundum or 2.4 mg per 1 mL of corundum suspension. We also examined cytoplasm obtained from different E. coli strains as an example of a complex matrix. Varying the imidazole concentration in the loading and washing buffers showed that higher concentrations during loading improved purity. Even with sample volumes as large as one liter, we successfully isolated recombinant proteins down to a concentration of 1 µg/mL. We found higher purity levels with corundum when comparing the corundum material to standard Ni–NTA agarose beads. We successfully purified His6-MBP-mSA2, a fusion protein comprising monomeric streptavidin and maltose-binding protein, from E. coli cytoplasm, demonstrating the method's applicability. We also purified SARS-CoV-2-S-RBD-His8 expressed in human Expi293F cells, confirming its suitability for mammalian cell culture supernatants. The material cost of the nickel-loaded corundum material (without regeneration) is estimated to be less than 30 cents per gram of functionalized support or 10 cents per milligram of isolated protein. Another advantage of this system is the exceptional physical and chemical stability of corundum particles. Overall, we have demonstrated that this novel material offers an efficient, robust, and cost-effective purification platform for His-tagged proteins, even in challenging, complex matrices and large sample volumes with low product concentrations. This method has potential applications in both small laboratories and large-scale industrial settings. N2 - Die immobilisierte Metallaffinitätschromatographie (IMAC) ist eine weit verbreitete Technik zur Reinigung von rekombinanten Proteinen mit Polyhistidin-Markierung. Sie hat jedoch oft praktische Einschränkungen, die komplexe Optimierungen und zusätzliche Schritte für die Aufreinigung erfordern. In dieser Studie stellen wir funktionalisierte Korundpartikel als neuartige, effiziente und wirtschaftliche Methode zur Reinigung rekombinanter Proteine in einem säulenfreien Format vor. Die Korundoberfläche wird mit dem Aminosilan APTES und anschließend mit EDTA-Dianhydrid modifiziert und dann mit Nickelionen beladen. Wir haben den Kaiser-Test zur Überwachung des Modifizierungsprozesses und ICP-MS zur Quantifizierung der Metallbindungskapazität verwendet. Zur Charakterisierung des Systems verwendeten wir His-markiertes Protein A/G (PAG) in Kombination mit Rinderserumalbumin (BSA). Die Korundpartikel wiesen eine Bindungskapazität von etwa 3 mg Protein pro Gramm Korund oder 2,4 mg pro 1 ml Korundsuspension auf. Als Beispiel für eine komplexe Matrix untersuchten wir auch Zytoplasma, das aus verschiedenen E. coli-Stämmen gewonnen wurde. Die Variation der Imidazolkonzentration in den Lade- und Waschpuffern zeigte, dass höhere Konzentrationen beim Laden die Reinheit verbesserten. Selbst bei einem Probenvolumen von bis zu einem Liter konnten wir rekombinante Proteine von 1 µg/mL isolieren. Beim Vergleich des Korundmaterials mit Standard-Ni-NTA-Agarose-Beads stellten wir einen höheren Reinheitsgrad mit Korund fest. Wir reinigten erfolgreich His6-MBP-mSA2 aus E. coli-Zytoplasma, ein Fusionsprotein, das aus monomerem Streptavidin und Maltose-bindendem Protein besteht. Wir reinigten auch SARS-CoV-2-S-RBD-His8, das in humanen Expi293F-Zellen exprimiert wurde, und bestätigten damit die Eignung des Materials für Zellkulturüberstände von Säugetieren. Die Materialkosten für nickelbeladenen Korund (ohne Regenerierung) werden auf weniger als 30 Cent pro Gramm funktionalisierten Trägers oder 10 Cent pro Milligramm isolierten Proteins geschätzt. Ein weiterer Vorteil dieses Systems ist die außergewöhnliche physikalische und chemische Stabilität der Korundpartikel. Insgesamt haben wir gezeigt, dass dieses neuartige Material eine effiziente, robuste und kostengünstige Reinigungsplattform für His-markierte Proteine bietet, selbst bei schwierigen, komplexen Matrices und großen Probenmengen mit niedrigen Produktkonzentrationen. Diese Methode könnte sowohl in kleinen Labors als auch in der Großindustrie eingesetzt werden. KW - Aluminum oxide KW - Sapphire KW - Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid KW - Nickel chelate KW - EDTAD KW - HexaHis-Tag KW - His6 KW - 6xHis KW - His8 KW - Bioseparation KW - IMAC purification KW - Immunocapture KW - Affinity chromatography KW - Carrier KW - Nickel KW - Recombinant protein KW - Escherichia coli KW - Bacterial lysates KW - Cytoplasm KW - Polishing KW - Downstream processing PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-575672 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/biotech12020031 VL - 12 IS - 2 SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Schweiz AN - OPUS4-57567 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -